Photos: Young adult books that changed our lives

Updated 9:40 AM ET, Mon October 7, 2013

Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – In the junior high library, "Go Ask Alice" was surely listed under the author "Anonymous." In reality, it was published in 1971 by therapist Beatrice Sparks in the form of a diary of an unidentified teen who becomes addicted to drugs.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – Long before young adult literature grew into its own genre, "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott was the classic coming-of-age tale of the four March sisters -- practical Meg, strong Jo, gentle Beth and artist Amy.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – "Sirena," Donna Jo Napoli​'s retelling of two tales from Greek mythology, is the bittersweet story of Greek warrior Philoctetes and the siren who defies her mythological mandate by falling in love with him.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – American author John Bellairs was best known for his Gothic mystery novels featuring young protagonists Lewis Barnavelt, Anthony Monday and Johnny Dixon. Many of them, including "The Chessman of Doom," were accompanied by creepy cover art and illustrations by artist Edward Gorey.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – In "Both Sides of Time," the first book in Caroline B. Cooney's Time Travelers series, teenager Annie Lockwood is a romantic living in the wrong century. After traveling back in time to the Victorian era, she becomes trapped between two worlds with disastrous consequences.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" jump-started author Judy Blume's prolific career and changed the way a generation of readers learned about menstruation, masturbation and sex.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – In "Shadowland," the first installment of The Mediator series, author Meg Cabot introduces high schooler Suze, a "mediator" who helps ghosts put unresolved issues to rest.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" is the fictional travel guide at the heart of Douglas Adams' comic science fiction series. Originally a radio series that aired on BBC Radio 4 in 1978, it became an international phenomenon that was adapted into several mediums, including novels beloved by readers young and old.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – "The Chronicles of Narnia," a series of novels by C.S. Lewis, are set in a magical realm of nobility and talking animals where a battle between good and evil unfolds over seven books.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – Louise Fitzhugh's "Harriet the Spy" follows the adventures of an 11-year-old aspiring spy who documents the activities of friends and neighbors in New York City -- and runs into some trouble (and a few delish tomato sandwiches) along the way.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" and the four books that followed in the "Time Quintent" start with nerdy teen Meg Murry's quest to find her scientist father, then crosses time to explore what comes later for the Murry family.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – Bette Greene's "Morning Is a Long Time Coming" picks up where "Summer of My German Soldier" left off, with teen protagonist Patty Bergen traveling to Europe to find the family of the German soldier she harbored until he was caught and summarily executed.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – "The Color Purple" won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for writer Alice Walker's stark depiction of the lives of women of color in the South in the 1930s. Though not originally intended as a book for young readers, it became required reading in many schools.

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Young adult books that changed our lives14 photos

Books that changed young adult lives – "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier is the classic tale of resistance -- related through a high school chocolate sale.